Problem
You are a youth worker for an organisation, and have been assigned a new client. Ellie is 12 years old, very timid, and fearful of new, unknown people. She has been removed from her family as they are not able to support her, and she has been placed in residential care. On your first few meetings with Ellie you are completing a CAT to inform support planning, but while you are trying to build a relationship with her and identify her issues and needs, Ellie presents a mixture of the following symptoms:
1. Physically small for her age
2. Dark circles under her eyes
3. Finds it difficult to maintain eye contact and seems very uncomfortable in one-on-one situations
4. Seems to withdraw from conversations when they touch on difficult topics
5. Is often quiet and seemingly sad
I. How would you begin to develop a trusting and respectful relationship with Ellie? How would the use of communication skills benefit you in doing this?
II. When performing a CAT, why conduct it over multiple sessions? How does this help you build a relationship with Ellie?